Ramblings of a 70-year old: spacex

Showing posts with label spacex. Show all posts

Sunday, November 27, 2022

International Space Station to grow tomatoes, SpaceX will carry the seeds

After the aborted first attempt, SpaceX is carrying a fresh haul of supplies to the International Space Station ISS. The seeds on board the mission include an assortment of dwarf tomato seeds apart from a range of science experiments. There will also be treats for the astronauts on the space station. Some of these are ice cream and Thanksgiving fare like spicy green beans, cranberry apple desserts, pumpkin pie and candy corn. The broad plan is to install the solar arrays outside the floating laboratory during spacewalks. The tentative dates are November 29 and December 3 and they will give the space station a power boost. SpaceX has been working hand in hand with NASA and has undertaken more than two dozen resupply missions to the ISS over the past decade. It was part of a multibillion-dollar deal with NASA. This year happens to be the busiest year to date for SpaceX, with more than 50 operations so far. These include two astronaut missions. SpaceX launches tomato seeds, other supplies to International Space StationThere are a number of health-related items on board. One of these is the Moon Microscope Kit. It is a portable handheld microscope for astronauts to collect and send images of blood samples to flight surgeons on the ground for diagnostics and treatment.

Incidentally, nutrients are a key component for maintaining good health in space. However, the astronauts seldom get fresh items and have to survive with prepackaged meals during their six-month stays in low-Earth orbit. Astronauts have already grown and tasted different types of vegetables like lettuce, radishes and chiles on the International Space Station. Now, they could add some dwarf tomatoes — specifically, Red Robin tomatoes — to their list of space-grown salad ingredients. This experiment is part of an effort to provide continuous fresh food production facilities in space. The tomatoes are expected to be ready for their first taste test in the spring. Half of each tomato harvest will be frozen and returned to Earth for analysis.

Saturday, November 5, 2022

Mystery surrounds the fate of Elon Musk’s proposed Hyperloop transportation technology from Los Angeles to San Francisco

Six years ago, Elon Musk wanted to develop and test his proposed Hyperloop transportation technology. His promise was to hurl passengers through tunnels in levitating, autonomous electric pods at more than 600 mph. its success would reduce the time of a trip from Los Angeles to California to 35 minutes. There were annual competitions involving engineers and students from all over the world to develop and test the proposed Hyperloop transportation technology of Elon Musk. Right now, the Hyperloop system has yet to see the light of day. As a result, the locals began to complain about road and pedestrian access. Hawthorne Councilmember Angie Reyes English asked city staff to request that SpaceX remove the tube. She said - “The city has been very giving and has been very supportive in efforts that SpaceX has had. But ultimately, we have other businesses and other things we need to consider, and to give the community their streets back.” Elon Musk’s Hyperloop prototype tube is gone. What does it mean for his tunneling dream?

There is no confirmation on whether SpaceX or Musk’s tunneling venture, Boring Co., are continuing to develop the Hyperloop technology. A media outlet first reported the Hawthorne tube’s removal this week. They called it “symbolic of a larger retreat” and said the Hyperloop project “has been indefinitely shelved.” However, SpaceX and Boring Co. did not respond to requests for comment. The last student competition was held in the summer of 2019. Since then, SpaceX has apparently abandoned operations at the nearly mile long test tube. Angie Reyes English said - “We just have to clean it up to ensure its safety and to ensure pedestrian right of way.” In view of Musk’s history of shelving tunnel projects, English is not sure whether the Hawthorne project is still running.

Sunday, October 16, 2022

SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts of NASA and ESA returned to Earth in a parachute-assisted splashdown

It was a memorable moment for NSSA and SpaceX when the Crew-4 astronauts splashed down in the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. They were Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, and Jessica Watkins of NASA and Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency ESA. They had spent 170 days in orbit aboard the Dragon spacecraft. That way they completed the agency’s fourth commercial crew mission to the International Space Station ISS. The SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and astronauts. All the astronauts will fly to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston while Cristoforetti will board a plane to Europe. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson welcomed them back. This international crew spent nearly six months on the ISS. They conducted science experiments for the benefit of all and their work will help prepare future explorers for subsequent space missions. Bill Nelson went on to add - “Working and living on the space station is the opportunity of a lifetime, but it also requires these explorers to make sacrifices, especially time away from loved ones.” NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts safely splash down in Atlantic after spending 170 days in orbit. The Crew-4 astronauts contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities and technology demonstrations. Cristoforetti completed two spacewalks with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev to perform station maintenance and upgrades.

The four astronauts travelled 72,168,935 miles during their mission, spent 170 days aboard the space station, and completed 2,720 orbits around the Earth. Cristoforetti has logged 369 days in space on her two flights. This makes her second on the all-time list for most days in space by a woman. The spacecraft, named Freedom by Crew-4, will now come back to Florida. Once there, it will undergo inspection and processing at SpaceX’s Dragon Lair. Here, specialist teams will examine the data and performance of the spacecraft throughout the flight. The aim of the Commercial Crew Program of NASA is to ensure safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station and help NASA prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.